Obtaining vendor information using mobile internet devices

ABSTRACT

Various systems and methods for obtaining vendor information using mobile internet devices are described herein. An inquiry for a product or service is received from a user. A location for the receipt of the product or service is received. Vendor information of a vendor of the product or service proximate to the location is determined, with the vendor information including a price for the product or service, and a wait time to receive the product or service. The vendor information is then transmitted to the user.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments pertain to the use of mobile electronic devices andelectronic commerce activities.

BACKGROUND

As an increasing number of businesses use online services to advertisetheir products and services, consumers are consequently able to accessincreasing amounts of information regarding these products and services.However, with the large number of people and businesses online, there isa risk of having too much information such that a consumer is unable tomake efficient purchase decisions. There is a need for a system thatprovides organized information so that the consumer may make efficientpurchase decisions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system for providingproduct or service information to a user, according to an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a graphical user interfaceproviding product information, according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing product orservice information to a user, according to an example embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a machine in the example form ofa computer system, within which a set or sequence of instructions forcausing the machine to perform any one of the methodologies discussedherein may be executed, according to an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustratespecific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practicethem. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical,process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodimentsmay be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments.Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalentsof those claims.

The cloud includes various data sources comprising an enormous amount ofdata, but that data is not available to the consumer in a context-aware,real time manner. The following disclosure describes a system thatallows users to actively or passively signal their needs to or wants fora good or service via a device to a cloud-based service, which puts themin touch with vendors or friends who are nearby and may satisfy thoseneeds or wants. In this way, the vast resources contained in the cloudmay be customized to a user based on current location, personal context,preferences, finances, etc. Such a system also address the problem offine-grained supply and demand by creating micro-markets for consumergoods and services. Vendors may be able to offer lower prices based oninstantaneous demand and inventory. This creates new pricingefficiencies in labor costs, inventory storage, and initial materialcosts. Thus, the disclosure provides a potential solution to the problemof efficient decision making in consumer commodity purchases of goodsand services using real time information exchange.

The present disclosure provides techniques and configurations used forproviding real-time information of a product or service to a user (e.g.,potential consumer). This may improve transaction efficiency betweenproducer and consumer by providing targeted advertising and informationexchange to the consumer from the producer, resulting in sales that theproducer may not have otherwise realized. Additionally, this informationexchange may further enable users to receive more comprehensive andaccurate information about a product or service, and assist the user inthe decision making process involving the product or service.

As used herein, the term “producer” refers to a person, business, orother entity that creates, provides, or sells a product, service, orcombination of a product and service. Examples or producers include, butare not limited to, retail locations (e.g., TARGET® or WAL-MART®),wholesale locations (e.g., a lumber exchange or a grocery supplier), andprofessional services (e.g., auto service shops, attorneys, andphysicians).

As used herein, the term “consumer” refers to a person, business, orother entity that purchases, leases, rents, or otherwise consumes goodsand services provided by one or more producers.

As used herein, the term “social network” refers to a consumer's onlineacquaintances connected by one or more online social network services. Aconsumer may be acquainted with another person or business due to apurchase or sale of a good or service, a personal friendship, a workrelationship, a familial relationship, a shared educational background,a shared professional status or background, or the like. Examples ofsocial networks include, but are not limited to social communities(e.g., FACEBOOK®, FLICKR®, and GOOGLE+™), professional communities(e.g., LINKEDIN® and VIADEO®), ecommerce communities (e.g., EBAY® andAMAZON.COM®), or other communities.

Using the embodiments described herein, a user may obtain informationregarding a product or service, which is provided nearby to a locationof interest. The location of interest may be the user's location or itmay be a location supplied by the user. The user may access suchinformation on a mobile device or at an installed, relatively stationarydevice. Mobile devices may include devices such as mobile phones,smartphones, tablet computers, laptop computers, personal digitalassistants, and the like. Installed devices may include devices such askiosks and information centers. Some devices, such as a vehiclenavigation system may be considered an installed mobile device.Information provided to the user may be obtained from retailers orwholesalers of the product or service, sources of reviews of the productor service, the user's social network, or other data sources.

A variety of techniques and configurations may be used to provide theautomatic context-aware execution of data collection, transmission,correlation, and presentation of product or service information.Moreover, a system architecture to implement the presently describedtechniques may be provided to support any combination of internetconnectivity, near field communications (NFC), correlation information,shopping referral information, and internet-derived information. Anapplication supported by the system architecture may provide a displayof multimedia data in a variety of formats and form factors, deliveredto provide a user with an improved experience.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system 100 for providingproduct or service information to a user, according to an exampleembodiment. FIG. 1 includes a mobile device 102, a client terminal 104,a provider system 106, a vendor system 108, a point of sale (POS)terminal 110, and a social network 112, all interconnected via a network114.

The mobile device 102 includes devices such as a smartphone, cellulartelephone, mobile phone, laptop computer, tablet computer, or otherportable networked device. In general, the mobile device is small andlight enough to be considered portable and includes a mechanism toconnect to a network, either over a persistent or intermittentconnection.

The client terminal 104 may be equipped similar to the mobile device 102in that it includes network capabilities and a user interface to receiveinformation from a user and provide information to a user. Examples ofclient terminals include, but are not limited to, information kiosks,automotive navigation systems, desktop computers, and thin clients.

The provider system 106 may be configured to provide aproduct-or-service information retrieval service to a user at the mobiledevice 102 or client terminal 104. The provider system 106 may providethe information retrieval service on a subscription basis to the user,for example. As another example, the provider system 106 may partnerwith one or more vendors to provide information of such vendors to theuser upon request.

The provider system 106 may communicate with internal databases or fileservers to publish or serve files via a web server. The provider system106 may include a web server. The web server may consist of scripts,applications, or library files that provide primary or auxiliaryfunctionality to the web server (e.g., multimedia, file transfer, ordynamic interface functions). The web server, either alone or inconjunction with one or more other computers in the provider system 106,may provide a user-interface. The user-interface may be implementedusing a variety of programming languages or programming methods, such asHTML (HyperText Markup Language), VBScript (Visual Basic® ScriptingEdition), JavaScript™ XML® (Extensible Markup Language), XSLT™(Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations), AJAX (AsynchronousJavaScript and XML), Java™, JFC (Java™ Foundation Classes), and Swing(an Application Programming Interface for Java™).

The vendor system 108 is related to, or maintained by, a vendor of goodsor services that may be of interest to a potential consumer. The vendorsystem 108 may include a client database containing records of past,existing, or potential clients of the vendor; a sales databasecontaining records of prior sales transactions; and a product/servicedatabase containing information regarding products or services thevendor offers for sale. Information from one or more of such databasesmay be made available to the provider system 106 for presentation insome form to the user at the mobile device 102 or client terminal 104.In some embodiments, the vendor system 110 tracks current wait times forcustomers at a location where the vendor operates.

The provider system 106 or the vendor system 108 may represent a groupof two or more servers, cooperating with each other, provided by way ofa pooled, distributed, or redundant computing model. Further, either theprovider system 106 or the vendor system 108 may be implemented as adistributed system; for example, one or more elements of the providersystem 106 may be located across a wide-area network from other elementsof the provider system 106.

The POS terminal 110 is an electronic device that resides at locationwhere a transaction occurs. The POS terminal 110 may include hardwareand software for consummation of a sale. For example, the POS terminal110 may be an electronic cash register. The POS terminal 110 may includesensors or input integrated or coupled to the POS terminal 100 thatdetects or receives data to compute an average wait time, an estimatedwait time, or an actual wait time for checkout at the POS terminal 110,or among a plurality of POS terminals 110. For example, in a manned POSterminal 110, the cashier may have a user interface control to providethe number of people in the checkout lane, which may then be used tocompute an estimated wait time for a newly arrived person at the POSterminal 110. As another example, the POS terminal 110 may be coupled toa sensor, such as a camera, that is able to detect the queue length(e.g., number of people in line or number of cars in line). Other typesof sensors that may be used to determine queue length include, but arenot limited to, motion detection sensors, infrared detectors, audiodetectors, magnetic detectors, radio frequency identification (RFID)tags, and the like. Some of these types of detectors may be used in thefollowing manner to detect or determine queue length. Using an averageservice time, such as time to check out at a cashier, the queue lengthmay be used to calculate a corresponding wait time.

A gas station may have installed magnetic sensors in the concretedriveways around the gas pumps, similar to those found at stop lights.When a vehicle is relatively stationary, the magnetic field created bythe magnetic sensor is interrupted and the vehicle's presence isdetected. Using average vehicles lengths, the sensor system may be ableto calculate the number of vehicles in line, or at least calculate anestimate useful for determining queue length and resulting wait time.

A retail checkout line may include an infrared sensor to determine thenumber of people in line by analyzing heat patterns. Alternatively, orin addition, the retail location may use RFID tags in the shopping cartsand handheld baskets. With a near field detector, the RFID sensor may beable to determine the number of carts and baskets in a particularcheckout line, and then calculate the resulting estimated wait time.

Returning to FIG. 1, the social network 112 includes an online socialnetwork of the user of the mobile device 102 or client terminal 104.Data is available in such social networks 112, including the physicallocation of members in the social network 112, the likes and dislikes ofsuch members, reviews or past experiences at vendors that the membersprovide, past purchases or purchase decisions that the members provide,and other data related to shopping experiences, vendor experiences, andthe like.

The network 114 may include local-area networks (LAN), wide-areanetworks (WAN), wireless networks (e.g., 802.11 or cellular network),the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) network, ad hoc networks,personal area networks (e.g., Bluetooth) or other combinations orpermutations of network protocols and network types. The network 106 mayinclude a single local area network (LAN) or wide-area network (WAN), orcombinations of LANs or WANs, such as the Internet. The various devicescoupled to the network 114 may be coupled to the network 114 via one ormore wired or wireless connections.

Using the mobile device 102 or client terminal 104, a user may searchfor a product or service to purchase or receive. For example, theprovider system 106 may provide a user interface via a web site, inwhich the user may provide a textual search string. A location isobtained. The location may be of the user, such as by querying theuser's device to obtain a location via global positioning system (GPS)integrated in the device. Alternatively, the location may be provided bythe user. For example, in some cases, the user may be travelling to adestination, and wish to obtain information relevant to the eventualdestination. In this case, the user's current location is irrelevant forthe user's query.

The user's search string is used to search for vendors offering productsor services that are relevant to the user's search query and areproximate to the provided location. The provider system 106 may operateas a targeted advertising system for vendors that look to advertise viathe provider system 106. In this case, the provider system 106 may onlyprovide results that include participating vendors. Alternatively, theprovider system 106 may include results of non-participating vendors,but give participating vendors better placement in the search results, aunique or special user interface element to emphasize the participatingvendors, or other preferred treatment. The provider system 106 or theowner of the provider system 106 may have advertising agreements inplace with the vendor corresponding to the vendor system 108.

Additionally, when the search is performed, data indicating wait timesis obtained. The data may be real time, or close to real time, asprovided by a cashier at a POS terminal 110 or by sensors coupled to aPOS terminal 110. The data may be based in whole or part on historicaldata. For example, data on queue lengths and wait times may be collectedand analyzed for one month, and then reused for the subsequent fivemonths, to be recomputed in the beginning of the next 6-month period.

The provider system 106 may obtain the queue length or wait time datadirectly from the POS terminal 110 or indirectly via the vendor system108, in various embodiments. As one example, the POS terminal 110 may beconfigured to advertise or broadcast the queue length or wait time datato the network 114. Using secured protocols, the provider system 106 mayaccess the queue length or wait time data from the POS terminal 110 andtransmit wait time data to the user at the mobile device 102 or clientterminal 104. In this manner, various back-end cloud providers mayconnect with each other, and front end application software may bedeveloped to collect, analyze, process, and provide informationregarding the data. To ensure data security, the secured protocols mayinclude various mechanisms, such as encrypted data transmission,proprietary message structures (e.g., a proprietary XML messagestructure), challenge-response protocols, virtual private networks, orthe like.

In some embodiments, social network data obtained from the socialnetwork 112 is included with the search results. Social network data mayinclude reviews, likes and dislikes, the presence of a member of thesocial network 112, or other data related to the vendor or the vendor'sproducts or services.

The vendor data, wait time data, and possibly the social network data isreturned to the user at the mobile device 102 or client terminal 104 ina formatted output. The formatted output may be sorted or filtered invarious ways. For example, the formatted output may be sorted orfiltered by distance to the vendor's location, travel time, or waittime. Other operations may include sorting or filtering by reviews ofmembers of the user's social network.

The formatted output may be sorted or filtered by user preferences. Forexample, the user may indicate that vendors with a rating of less thansome threshold are to be omitted from the search results. The ratingsmay be from members of the user's social network, third party reviewers,or the user's own ratings. For example, the user may indicate thatvendors with a rating based on social network data, having less thansome threshold are to be omitted from the search results.

In some embodiments, when a user chooses or selects a vendor from thesearch result list, the application on the mobile device 102 or clientterminal 104 provides one or more travel routes. This may be useful to adriver or occupant in a vehicle equipped with an onboard navigation orpersonal assistant system.

In some embodiments, the application on the mobile device 102 or clientterminal 104 provides a mechanism for the user to provide feedback orratings of the vendor, product, or service obtained. This data may befed back into the social network 112, vendor system 108, or providersystem 106. Members of the user's social network 112 are able toleverage the personal experiences of the user. The vendor may takeaction to remedy weaknesses or other issues with products or servicesoffered by the vendor. The provider system 106 may store feedback orratings and make such data available to other subscribers or users ofthe provider system 106.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a graphical user interface200 providing product information, according to an example embodiment.The illustration of the particular graphical user interface 200 and thecontent included therein is provided as one non-limiting example of adisplay, it is appreciated that numerous other configurations anddesigns may be implemented for such a graphical user interface.

The graphical user interface 200 includes a search interface 202 and asearch results interface 204. The search interface 202 includes a searchfield 206, location controls 208, and recent searches 210. The searchfield 206 may be used to provide a description of the product or servicethat the user is interested in purchasing or receiving. The user mayprovide a location or use the device's GPS location with the locationcontrols 208. By default, in an example embodiment, the application willuse the device's GPS location. Recent searches 210 are provided in thisexample interface. The number of recent searches 210 available may beconfigurable by the user. A default value, for example six searches, asshown, may be used in absence of a configured value. Furthermore,searches may be saved to be reused as “favorite” searches, in anembodiment. Saved searches (e.g., favorites) are not illustrated in theexample shown in FIG. 2.

After a user has submitted a search, the search results are displayed inthe search results interface 204. The search results interface 204 mayinclude a mini-map 212 and zero or more listings 214. The mini-map 212provides a navigational aid to the user and includes indicia of thelistings 214, if any. The mini-map 212 may be an activateable control,for example, where the user may press or click on the mini-map 212 tozoom, pan, or otherwise manipulate the map view contained within.

The listings 214 include details of the vendors that sell products orservices related to the user's search. The listings 214 include thevendor's name, an estimated wait time, and a price. By selecting one ofthe listings 214, additional details may be displayed. In this example,the listing for “The Car Shop” has been selected and a special offer isdisplayed to the user. Such special offers may be made availableexclusively to users of the application. Review information may also bedisplayed in relation to the listing. Review information may includeratings, commentary, or other information providing summaries,evaluations, or descriptions of a product or service. In this example,the listing includes a three out of four star rating and an indicationof friends that like the vendor. In addition, the details may alsoprovide the user an indication of whether anyone from their socialnetwork 112 is currently at the vendor's location. Here, there is nobodyfrom the user's social network is at the vendor's location. Suchlocation information may be obtained automatically from mobile devices,for example, using GPS circuits on the mobile devices.

Additionally, after selecting a vendor from the listings 214, the usermay purchase the goods or services using the “Checkout” control 216.Checkout may be provided by the provider system 106, vendor system 108,or a third party, such as PAYPAL®. The checkout may use a bankingnetwork (PULSE®, PLUS®, CIRRUS®, INTERAC®, INTERSWITCH®, STAR®, andLINK), a payment network (e.g., VISANET® or MASTERCARD®), or otherpayment network. The user may be provided with an electronic receipt topresent to the vendor when receiving the product or service. Theelectronic receipt may be in the form of an invoice, and may include anidentifier, such as a transaction identifier or confirmation code. Theidentifier may be encoded in a barcode or other indicia, which may thenbe scanned by a person or machine at the vendor's location to quicklycomplete the transaction.

After checkout, the user may be provided with the option to view routeinformation guiding the user from the current location to the vendor'slocation. If the device is incorporated into a navigation system, suchas in a vehicle, the route information may be conveyed to the user withturn-by-turn directions. The route information may include a map. Inaddition, the route information or the map may indicate trafficconditions. In general, routing may take into consideration trafficlevels, construction, weather, and other obstacles (e.g., games orevents) that may impede or affect the user's progress. This is presentedto the user in order to assist in decision making among several vendors.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method 300 for providing product orservice information to a user, according to an example embodiment. Thefollowing operations are not required to be performed in a consecutiveorder or sequence, although the illustrated order depicts use of themethod in a common shopping experience.

At block 302, an inquiry for a product or service is received from auser. The inquiry may be received at a provider system from a useroperating a device, such as a mobile device. In an embodiment, theinquiry for the product or service is received from the user as a textstring query. In another embodiment, the inquiry for the product orservice is received by receiving an indication of a previously-executedsearch. As discussed above with reference to FIG. 2, previously-executedsearches may be saved temporarily or more permanently for reuse. As anexample, the indication of the previously-executed search may beprovided by the mobile device to the provider system as a text of apreviously-used text string query. As another example, the indication ofthe previously-executed search may be provided as an index or otherkeyed value, which is then used by the provider system to lookup thepreviously executed search and transmit the corresponding search result.

At block 304, a location for the receipt of the product or service isreceived. In an embodiment, the location for the receipt of the productor service is obtained by detecting a location of the user. For example,the user's location may be inferred by the location of the deviceinterfacing with the provider system. Thus, in a further embodiment, thelocation of the user is obtained by identifying a location of a mobiledevice the user is operating. In an alternate embodiment, the locationfor the receipt of the product or service is received from the user. Forexample, the user may provide an address, such as a home residence, touse as the location relative to the search.

At block 306, vendor information of a vendor of the product or serviceproximate to the location is determined. In an embodiment, the vendorinformation includes a price for the product or service and a wait timeto receive the product or service.

In an embodiment, the price for the product or service is determined inpart by identifying the user and calculating the price for the productor service based on the identity of the user. For example, the user maybe a past customer of the vendor's. After recognizing this, the vendormay provide a “valued customer” special price. As another example, theuser may be a member of a club offered by the vendor, such that memberpricing is available to the member/user.

In an embodiment, the vendor information comprises rating or reviewinformation of the vendor. In a further embodiment, the rating or reviewinformation is obtained from a member of the user's social network.

In an embodiment, the price varies dynamically based on real timedemand. For example, as queue length or wait time decreases, a vendormay adjust prices to drive business.

At block 308, the vendor information is transmitted to the user.

In a further embodiment, the method 300 includes transmitting to theuser, a travel time from the location to the vendor.

In a further embodiment, the method 300 includes transmitting to theuser, a travel route from the location to the vendor.

In a further embodiment, the method 300 includes providing a paymentinterface to the user, receiving a method of payment from the user, andprocessing the method of payment to pay for the product or service.

In a further embodiment, the method 300 includes providing to the user,an indication of whether an acquaintance of the user is present at thevendor. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the indication may be a textualindication that provides the user information of how many or whichfriends are at the vendor. Using such information, the user may opt toattend or avoid the particular vendor.

In a further embodiment, the method 300 includes presenting a userinterface control to the user, the user interface control configured toprovide the user's location to a member of the user's social network. Anindication of the user actuating the user interface control is received,and in response to receiving the indication, the user's location isprovided to the member of the user's social network.

The following real-life, non-limiting examples provide a series ofuse-case scenarios. The following examples are intended to be used inconjunction with the embodiments described herein.

As an example, a person wandering around a downtown area may beinterested in obtaining coffee. Using the systems and method described,the person may use his smartphone to search for the product “coffee.” Alisting of three nearby coffee vendors are provided, each with thecorresponding price for a cup of coffee and each with corresponding waittimes. Weighing the factors, the person may choose to purchase from onevendor over another due to price, wait time, location, brand, reviews,or other information available. Before arriving at the chosen coffeevendor, the person may pay for the coffee and obtain an electronicreceipt. The receipt may be in the form of a barcode (e.g, QR code),transaction identifier, confirmation number, or other information toauthenticate the transaction and the person. The receipt may bepresented to the cashier at the coffee vendor to expedite thetransaction. Such mechanisms may increase the sales volume of thevendor, while simultaneously decreasing wait times or other purchaseobstacles for the consumer.

As another example, a person may using the systems and methods describedto search for a product and view nearby vendors. Along with informationindicating the price of the product at one or more of the vendors and await time at one or more of the vendors, the person may be provided withreview information from various sources, including but not limited tofriends, acquaintances, or other people from the person's socialnetwork. Reviews may also be obtained from other sources, such as othercustomers of the respective vendor, professional reviewers, and thelike. Using the price, wait time, and review information, the person maymake a decision on a vendor to visit.

As another example, a person driving home may be interested in pickingup dinner on the way. The person may search for the term “Italian food”and provide a location of the person's home residence, in contrast thecurrent location of the person (in the car). Search results are thenprovided in an area proximate to the person's house. After selecting andpaying for an order, the person may be navigated to the vendor by thein-car navigation system. By using the systems and methods of thepresent disclosure, the person may reduce or eliminate wait times andarrive home more quickly and with a hot meal.

As another example, a vendor may choose to subscribe and advertise witha provider of location-based services described herein. The vendor mayconfigure systems and sensors, install software or hardware, or trainemployees to track and maintain queue length or wait times for checkout.The vendor may provide access to the queue length or wait time data sothat the provider is able to collect and provide such information to theend user. Alternatively, the vendor may compile this information andprovide it to the provider system, such as in a daily, hourly, orminute-by-minute report. The vendor may use advertising budgets to joinand participate in the provider's service. Further, the vendor may offerspecials or other incentives to uses of the provider's service.

Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware,firmware, and software. Embodiments may also be implemented asinstructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may beread and executed by at least one processor to perform the operationsdescribed herein. A computer-readable storage device may include anynon-transitory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by amachine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storagedevice may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM),magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memorydevices, and other storage devices and media.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a machine in the example form ofa computer system 400, within which a set or sequence of instructionsfor causing the machine to perform any one of the methodologiesdiscussed herein may be executed, according to an example embodiment. Inalternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone device ormay be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of either a serveror a client machine in server-client network environments, or it may actas a peer machine in peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environments.The machine may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box(STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a webappliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable ofexecuting instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions tobe taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

Example computer system 400 includes at least one processor 402 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) or both,processor cores, compute nodes, etc.), a main memory 404 and a staticmemory 406, which communicate with each other via a link 408 (e.g, bus).The computer system 400 may further include a video display unit 410, analphanumeric input device 412 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface(UI) navigation device 414 (e.g., a mouse). In one embodiment, the videodisplay unit 410, input device 412 and UI navigation device 414 areincorporated into a touch screen display. The computer system 400 mayadditionally include a storage device 416 (e.g., a drive unit), a signalgeneration device 418 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 420,and one or more sensors (not shown), such as a global positioning system(GPS) sensor, compass, accelerometer, or other sensor.

The storage device 416 includes a machine-readable medium 422 on whichis stored one or more sets of data structures and instructions 424(e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 424 mayalso reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory404, static memory 406, and/or within the processor 402 during executionthereof by the computer system 400, with the main memory 404, staticmemory 406, and the processor 402 also constituting machine-readablemedia.

While the machine-readable medium 422 is illustrated in an exampleembodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” mayinclude a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized ordistributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that storethe one or more instructions 424. The term “machine-readable medium”shall also be taken to include any tangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machineand that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure or that is capable of storing,encoding or carrying data structures utilized by or associated with suchinstructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly betaken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, andoptical and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine-readable mediainclude non-volatile memory, including, by way of example, semiconductormemory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory(EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM))and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks andremovable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

The instructions 424 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 426 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 420 utilizing any one of a number of well-knowntransfer protocols (e.g., HTTP). Examples of communication networksinclude a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), theInternet, mobile telephone networks, Plain Old Telephone (POTS)networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., Wi-Fi, 3G, and 4G LTE/LTE-Aor WiMAX networks). The term “transmission medium” shall be taken toinclude any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, orcarrying instructions for execution by the machine, and includes digitalor analog communications signals or other intangible medium tofacilitate communication of such software.

Additional examples of the presently described method, system, anddevice embodiments include the following, non-limiting configurations.Each of the following non-limiting examples may stand on its own, or maybe combined in any permutation or combination with any one or more ofthe other examples provided below or throughout the present disclosure.

Additional Notes & Examples

Example 1 describes a system, method, or computer-readable medium forobtaining vendor information using mobile internet devices thatreceives, from a user, an inquiry for a product or service. A locationfor the receipt of the product or service is received. Vendorinformation of a vendor of the product or service proximate to thelocation is determined, with the vendor information including at leastone of a price for the product or service, or a wait time to receive theproduct or service. The vendor information is transmitted to the user.

In Example 2, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of Example1 may be optionally performed or configured such that receiving theinquiry for the product or service comprises receiving a text stringquery.

In Example 3, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of any oneor more of the Examples 1-2 may be optionally performed or configuredsuch that receiving the inquiry for the product or service comprisesreceiving an indication of a previously-executed search.

In Example 4, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of any oneor more of the Examples 1-3 may be optionally performed or configuredsuch that receiving the location for the receipt of the product orservice comprises detecting a location of the user.

In Example 5, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of any oneor more of the Examples 1-4 may be optionally performed or configuredsuch that detecting the location of the user comprises identifying alocation of a mobile device the user is operating.

In Example 6, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of any oneor more of the Examples 1-5 may be optionally performed or configuredsuch that receiving the location for the receipt of the product orservice comprises receiving the location from the user.

In Example 7, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of any oneor more of the Examples 1-6 may be optionally performed or configuredsuch that to determine the price for the product or service, the user isidentified and the price for the product or service is calculated basedon the identity of the user.

In Example 8, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of any oneor more of the Examples 1-7 may be optionally performed or configuredsuch that the price varies dynamically based on real time demand.

In Example 9, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of any oneor more of the Examples 1-8 may be optionally performed or configuredsuch that the vendor information comprises review information of thevendor.

In Example 10, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 1-9 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the review information is obtained from a member ofthe user's social network.

In Example 11, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 1-10 may be optionally performed orconfigured to transmit to the user, a travel time from the location tothe vendor.

In Example 12, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 1-11 may be optionally performed orconfigured to transmit to the user, a travel route from the location tothe vendor.

In Example 13, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 1-12 may be optionally performed orconfigured to provide a payment interface to the user, receive a methodof payment from the user, and process the method of payment to pay forthe product or service.

In Example 14, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 1-13 may be optionally performed orconfigured to provide to the user, an indication of whether anacquaintance of the user is present at the vendor.

In Example 15, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 1-14 may be optionally performed orconfigured to present a user interface control to the user, the userinterface control configured to provide the user's location to a memberof the user's social network, receive an indication of the useractuating the user interface control, and in response to receiving theindication, provide the user's location to the member of the user'ssocial network.

Example 16 describes a system, method, or computer-readable medium forobtaining vendor information using mobile internet devices that receivesat a processor-based system, from a user, an inquiry for a product orservice. A location for the receipt of the product or service isreceived. Vendor information of a vendor of the product or serviceproximate to the location is determined, with the vendor informationincluding at least one of a price for the product or service, or a waittime to receive the product or service. The vendor information istransmitted to the user.

In Example 17 the system, method, or computer-readable medium of Example16 may be optionally performed or configured such that to receive theinquiry for the product or service a text string query is received.

In Example 18, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 16-17 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that to receive the location for the receipt of theproduct or service, a location of the user is detected by identifying alocation of a mobile device the user is operating.

In Example 19, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 16-18 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the price for the product or service is determinedin part by the user's identity or location.

In Example 20, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 16-19 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the price varies dynamically based on real timedemand.

In Example 21, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 16-20 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the vendor information comprises review informationof the vendor.

In Example 22, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 16-21 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the review information is obtained from a member ofthe user's social network.

In Example 23, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 16-22 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that a travel time from the location to the vendor istransmitted to the user.

In Example 24, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 16-23 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that a travel route from the location to the vendor istransmitted to the user.

In Example 25, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 16-24 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that a payment interface is provided to the user and amethod of payment is received from the user. The method of payment isprocessed to pay for the product or service.

In Example 26, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 16-25 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the an indication of whether an acquaintance of theuser is present at the vendor is provided to the user.

In Example 27, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 16-26 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that a user interface control is presented to the user,the user interface control configured to provide the user's location toa member of the user's social network. An indication of the useractuating the user interface control is received, and in response toreceiving the indication, providing the user's location to the member ofthe user's social network.

Example 28 describes a system, method, or computer-readable medium forobtaining vendor information using mobile internet devices that includesa mobile wireless device connected to a provider computer network, themobile wireless device to receive, from a user of the mobile wirelessdevice, an inquiry for a product or service; provide the inquiry for theproduct or service to the provider computer network; receive, from theprovider network, vendor information of a vendor proximate to thelocation of the user, the vendor information including at least one of aprice for the product or service, or a wait time to receive the productor service; and present the vendor information to the user of the mobilewireless device.

In Example 29 the system, method, or computer-readable medium of Example28 may be optionally performed or configured such that the mobilewireless device receives the inquiry for the product or service byreceiving a text string query.

In Example 30, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 28-29 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the mobile wireless device receives the inquiry forthe product or service by receiving an indication of apreviously-executed search.

In Example 31, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 28-30 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the mobile wireless device receives the locationfor the receipt of the product or service by detecting a location of theuser.

In Example 32, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 28-31 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the mobile wireless device identifies a location ofa mobile device the user is operating to detect the location of theuser.

In Example 33, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 28-32 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the mobile wireless device receives the locationfor the receipt of the product or service by receiving the location fromthe user.

In Example 34, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 28-33 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the price for the product or service is determinedin part by identifying the user and calculating the price for theproduct or service based on the identity of the user.

In Example 35, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 28-34 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the price varies dynamically based on real timedemand.

In Example 36, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 28-35 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the vendor information comprises review informationof the vendor.

In Example 37, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 28-36 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the review information is obtained from a member ofthe user's social network.

In Example 38, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 28-37 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the mobile wireless device is configured totransmit to the user, a travel time from the location to the vendor.

In Example 39, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 28-38 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the mobile wireless device is configured totransmit to the user, a travel route from the location to the vendor.

In Example 40, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 28-39 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the mobile wireless device is configured to providea payment interface to the user; receive a method of payment from theuser; and process the method of payment to pay for the product orservice.

In Example 41, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 28-40 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the mobile wireless device is configured to provideto the user, an indication of whether an acquaintance of the user ispresent at the vendor.

In Example 42, the system, method, or computer-readable medium of anyone or more of the Examples 28-41 may be optionally performed orconfigured such that the mobile wireless device is configured to:present a user interface control to the user, the user interface controlconfigured to provide the user's location to a member of the user'ssocial network; receive an indication of the user actuating the userinterface control; and in response to receiving the indication, providethe user's location to the member of the user's social network.

The Abstract is provided to allow the reader to ascertain the nature andgist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understandingthat it will not be used to limit or interpret the scope or meaning ofthe claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated into thedetailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separateembodiment.

1. At least one machine readable medium for obtaining vendor informationusing mobile internet devices comprising a plurality of instructionsthat in response to being executed on a computing device, cause thecomputing device to: receive, from a user, an inquiry for a product orservice; receive a location for the receipt of the product or service;determine vendor information of a vendor of the product or serviceproximate to the location, the vendor information including at least oneof a price for the product or service, or a wait time to receive theproduct or service; and transmit the vendor information to the user. 2.The at least one machine readable medium claim 1, wherein theinstructions to receive the inquiry for the product or service compriseinstructions to receive a text string query.
 3. The at least one machinereadable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions to receive theinquiry for the product or service comprise instructions to receive anindication of a previously-executed search.
 4. The at least one machinereadable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions to receive thelocation for the receipt of the product or service comprise instructionsto detect a location of the user.
 5. The at least one machine readablemedium of claim 4, wherein detecting the location of the user comprisesidentifying a location of a mobile device the user is operating.
 6. Theat least one machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein theinstructions to receive the location for the receipt of the product orservice comprise instructions to receive the location from the user. 7.The at least one machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein the pricefor the product or service is determined in part by: identifying theuser; and calculating the price for the product or service based on theidentity of the user.
 8. The at least one machine readable medium ofclaim 1, wherein the price varies dynamically based on real time demand.9. The at least one machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein thevendor information comprises review information of the vendor.
 10. Theat least one machine readable medium of claim 9, wherein the reviewinformation is obtained from a member of the user's social network. 11.The at least one machine readable medium of claim 1, further comprisinginstructions to transmit to the user, a travel time from the location tothe vendor.
 12. The at least one machine readable medium of claim 1,further comprising instructions to transmit to the user, a travel routefrom the location to the vendor.
 13. The at least one machine readablemedium of claim 1, further comprising instructions to: provide a paymentinterface to the user; receive a method of payment from the user; andprocess the method of payment to pay for the product or service.
 14. Theat least one machine readable medium of claim 1, further comprisinginstructions to: provide to the user, an indication of whether anacquaintance of the user is present at the vendor.
 15. The at least onemachine readable medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions to:present a user interface control to the user, the user interface controlconfigured to provide the user's location to a member of the user'ssocial network; receive an indication of the user actuating the userinterface control; and in response to receiving the indication, providethe user's location to the member of the user's social network.
 16. Amethod for obtaining vendor information using mobile internet devicescomprising: receiving at a processor-based system, from a user, aninquiry for a product or service; receiving a location for the receiptof the product or service; determining vendor information of a vendor ofthe product or service proximate to the location, the vendor informationincluding at least one of a price for the product or service, or a waittime to receive the product or service; and transmitting the vendorinformation to the user. 17-18. (canceled)
 19. The method of claim 16,wherein the price for the product or service is determined in part bythe user's identity or location.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein theprice varies dynamically based on real time demand. 21-27. (canceled)28. A system for obtaining vendor information using mobile internetdevices comprising: a mobile wireless device connected to a providercomputer network, the mobile wireless device to: receive, from a user ofthe mobile wireless device, an inquiry for a product or service; providethe inquiry for the product or service to the provider computer network;receive, from the provider network, vendor information of a vendorproximate to the location of the user, the vendor information includingat least one of a price for the product or service, or a wait time toreceive the product or service; and present the vendor information tothe user of the mobile wireless device. 29-35. (canceled)
 36. The systemof claim 28, wherein the vendor information comprises review informationof the vendor.
 37. The system of claim 36, wherein the reviewinformation is obtained from a member of the user's social network.38-40. (canceled)
 41. The system of claim 28, wherein the mobilewireless device is configured to: provide to the user, an indication ofwhether an acquaintance of the user is present at the vendor.
 42. Thesystem of claim 28, wherein the mobile wireless device is configured to:present a user interface control to the user, the user interface controlconfigured to provide the user's location to a member of the user'ssocial network; receive an indication of the user actuating the userinterface control; and in response to receiving the indication, providethe user's location to the member of the user's social network.